Your personal finance questions – Will I qualify for the auto-enrolment pension scheme when it comes?

Plus, the best health cover for a family, and auto-renewing travel insurance

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Charlie Weston Twitter Email

March 11 2023 02:30 AM

Q I have been working part-time with the same employer for the last six years. My employer doesn’t offer a work pension scheme. As a part-time employee, will I be able to join an auto-enrolment pension scheme when the system gets up and running? And if so, when can I expect to do so?

A Auto-enrolment is due to be introduced in 2024. It is aimed at private-sector workers, aged between 23 and 60, who earn over €20,000 a year and who are not already part of a work pension scheme, according to the head of business development with the Independent Trustee Company, Glenn Gaughran. Your part-time work status does not preclude you from auto-enrolment.

All existing staff and new staff will be assessed for eligibility for auto-enrolment regardless of whether they are on probation, casual or part-time, he said. So you will be automatically enrolled into the scheme if you meet the criteria, though you can opt out or suspend participation for a period of time, should you wish to, Mr Gaughran said.

All existing staff and new staff will be assessed for eligibility for auto-enrolment

People earning below €20,000 a year and who are aged under 23 and over 60 will be able to opt-in to the system. You should stay in the auto-enrolment scheme once you join as for every €3 saved by you, a further €4 will be invested by the employer and the State combined, he said.

Employer contributions and the State top-up will be capped at a maximum €80,000 of an employee’s gross salary though employees may contribute on earnings greater than €80,000 if they wish.

Auto-enrolment will be phased in over a decade, with both employer and employee contributions starting at 1.5pc of gross salary, and then auto-escalating every three years until reaching the maximum contribution rate of 6pc from year 10 onwards.

Q I am currently with VHI, as are my children aged seven and nine. We are on a basic plan and are all healthy. I feel that I should increase the cover we have, particularly as I am aged 40. I do not need cover for day-to-day expenses. I only anticipate use for hospital stays, if needed.

A The VHI First Care 150 Day to Day is not a bad plan, says Dermot Goode of TotalHealthCover.ie. The current cost is €964 per adult and €192 per child.

However, there are a number of benefit limitations which members need to be aware of, he said. There is no high-tech cardiac cover, just 75pc cover in many private hospitals, and 40pc shortfalls on listed orthopaedic and ophthalmic procedures in private hospitals.

If you are thinking of upgrading to more comprehensive cover, Mr Goode said you should consider the likes of the VHI Company Plan Plus Level 1.3 (€1,245 per adult and €319 per child), or even the VHI PMI 3613 (€1,339 for an adult and €332 per child child).

These are corporate plans. Consider splitting your cover. This means putting the adults on the corporate plan and leaving the children on the current scheme.

Q I bought annual travel insurance last year and had expected it to expire this month. I recently noticed the travel insurer had deducted another payment. When I queried the charge, I was told that I had opted to auto-renew my policy. I can’t remember doing so. Can this be right?

A It sounds like you opted to auto-renew your annual policy when you bought it last year, without realising it.

It can be very easy to auto-renew travel insurance because with some travel insurers, you have to opt out of auto-renew rather than opt into it, according to Paul Walsh, the chief executive of Peopl Insurance (peopl.ie).

You might, for example, have to deselect a box on an online application, or ring or email the insurer directly, to indicate that you don’t want to auto-renew your policy. Once you are on auto-renew, your travel insurer will usually automatically renew your policy, Mr Walsh said.

With some travel insurers, you have to opt out of auto-renew rather than opt into it

You should, however, have received a notification in advance, reminding you that you had agreed to auto-renew your policy, outlining the premium that you would be charged, and instructing you to get in touch if you no longer wished to renew the cover.

Check if you received any correspondence along those lines.

You may be able to get a refund and cancel the policy renewal if you received no such correspondence, though this will usually depend on the travel insurance contract and how long it has been since the policy was renewed.